Oral Histories

“All the sermons that you are hearing, preaching, you are seeing God at work through the elders. Not until then, did you realize that was the relationship with the Lord. You had to give an account to God that he set you up and kept you safe and now I need to get your attention. He got my attention.…

Kathryn Wall: When did she decide that she wanted to go into journalism? Pat Jackson: She’s picking it up from her grandmother, Marian Cheek Jackson, always capturing information, always wanting to make sure that the voice of others were being heard. Instantly being accepted at UNC, there she didn't…

Kathryn Wall (KW): So when you were growing up, you know, in younger grades, the older kids were all going to Lincoln from your community— Patricia “Pat” Jackson (PJ): Mhm. KW: So did you expect, you know, did you think you would be going to Lincoln when you were approaching high school? PJ: Well…

Kathryn Wall (KW): Now this is just a minor question, just to answer a curiosity of mine, I know Lincoln's mascot was the tigers, and I know that Chapel Hill High School’s mascot now is the tigers, but was that always the case? Pat Jackson (PJ): Coming from Lincoln going to Chapel Hill High School,…

Pat Jackson (PJ): One of the other things I brought to share was in the Chapel Hill News, May 21, 2000, is an article of 75 Years of Hill Life, and it talks about 1957, 1962 and I'm featured, myself Pat Jackson in the class of 1971 of Chapel Hill High School, 75th yearbook included, you know, my…

Kathryn Wall (KW): When you were going to First Baptist was your family going there as well or coming to St. Joseph’s? Pat Jackson (PJ): No, my family didn't come to St. Joseph, my family, my mother, our home church is Neville's Chapel and it’s out on 15-501 headed towards Greensboro, that's where…

Kathryn Wall (KW): And when you were growing up, you know 7th grade and earlier, did lots of people in the community come out for those football games? Pat Jackson (PJ): Oh yes, that was the big event of your week, there were, during the early parts of celebrations on the UNC campus, especially…

Kathryn Wall (KW): Alright, this is Kathryn Wall from the Marian Cheek Jackson Center. We are here at Saint Joseph’s CME Church on November 1st, 2022. Patricia “Pat” Jackson (PJ): I am Pat Jackson. I have the privilege of speaking with the archivist team this morning at Saint Joseph’s CME Church…

Kathryn Wall (KW): It sounds like even if a minister’s only gonna be there, maybe potentially only be there for a year or a couple of years, that those church officers then become a stabilizing part of leadership. Pat Jackson (PJ): And that’s a great point because we've always been charged as…

Patricia Jackson: We always were proud to be able to, once they got to our church grounds, we were always eager to run them right down to Hargraves Center because that was our stomping grounds. That was where we had all of our fun and did all of our interactions socially with dances, the movies, and…

Kathryn Wall: Hi, this is Kathryn Wall from the Marian Cheek Jackson Center, it is September 26th, 2023, and we’re here at St. Joseph’s CME Church. Patricia “Pat” Jackson: I am Pat Jackson, I am here at St. Joseph CME Church sharing communication about the life and times of St. Joseph’s. Anna…

Kathryn Wall: So to contextualize a little bit this period in the church’s history, you said you were out doing your thing during this time period, what was Chapel Hill like in the mid-70s? Patricia “Pat” Jackson: Rebounding and trying to stay afloat from the segregation and uproar of the 60s in the…

Kathryn Wall (KW): I’m sure it varied some, but when some of these older generation that had become homeowners and had been able to have the financial stability to support the church, I know when we look at the housing in this area one of the issues is trying to retain homeownership, when folks…

Patricia “Pat” Jackson (PJ): He again was very instrumental in making sure that the young adults were involved and that year the young adults choir was renamed the “F.R. Gilbert Voices of Joy.” So we have several pictures of that full choir with all of those young adults. Kathryn Wall (KW): Is that…

Kathryn Wall (KW): At the time that Reverend Gilbert was the minister, were you more involved in the church at that point in your own life? Pat Jackson (PJ): Yes, yes ‘77 [pause] I finished high school and stuff and [was] back at church and I can’t remember what, I don’t remember what I was doing. I…

Kathryn Wall: What kind of qualities in a pastor inspired young people to get involved, do you think? Patricia Jackson: I think anytime that you were a little, not so much liberal, but not so stuffed shirt and rigid. If you had, you know, just some charisma or some excitement about you or something,…

"Well, it was always a place [the church] you could come to gain and find out the needs of the community." - Patricia "Pat" Jackson This interview is a part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s faith series. In this interview, Pat Jackson discusses the life and legacy of Reverend Charles L. Hilton,…